Golden Dewdrop
by Chrissiemusa
Summary: Three months after the events of Gold Awakening the Academy finds itself confronted with an unknown illness. When students and staff become afflicted it's a race against time to save their lives before it's too late. Will they all survive? Rated T.
1. Darkness Falls

**Golden Dewdrop**

**I do NOT in any way, shape or form own the Worst Witch, it belongs to Jill Murphy and I am not making any money out of this.**

**AN: Well here we are folks, the sequel to Gold Awakening and my second story for the Worst Witch. Thanks to Restless Seas for beta-reading this fic and a super special thanks to NextChristineDaae my new best friend :)**

**As always please read, review and enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1 – Darkness Falls<strong>

Three months. It had been three months since Hecketty Broomhead's visit broke down the very foundation of safety that they had all been living in. The remnants of such an event still in the minds of many, as fresh as the day it occurred. From the outsider's lens there was nothing wrong inside the schools walls. The students and staff were never in danger, Mistress Broomhead didn't visit, Imogen wasn't possessed; but from the insider's lens, the facade that they had all put up was easy to see straight through.

Constance knew the truth, it was written in the eyes of her colleagues and those of her students, they were still rattled, still scared. The odd pang of guilt that reflected in Imogen's eyes whenever they made eye contact; the way Davina's hands shook whenever Miss Drill called her outside in the middle of one of her classes; the way Amelia treated every letter she received like a poison, threatening to penetrate through her skin and burn her fingers to cinders... and then there was Constance; the impenetrable force that had been beaten down in more than one way that day. The woman who now took every opportunity she could to stay awake, afraid of the nightmares that would invade her mind's eye if she ever took a moment to rest. Cackle's Academy was her home and it had been in danger.

Though now as she stood outside the castle, looking at the full moon above and listening to the odd hoot from an owl, she felt safe, as if everything was going to be okay...how wrong she would be.

Turning around she surveyed the brook flowing quietly and enjoyed the sound of crickets as the water washed against rock after rock. The moon light shone brilliantly before her eyes, hitting the water and reflecting back like a mirror. She allowed a small smile to grace her lips. Constance always did enjoy the night, not only because it meant that she had a moment of peace to herself but because that was the time she felt the most comfortable.

She could read for hours at night in her bed with Morgana sitting next to her, the cat too had become accustomed to its owners nocturnal habits and eventually decided that sleeping during the day and awakening at night would grant her more attention.

Yes, Constance Hardbroom's favourite part of the day was everyone else's worst and the groan that sounded on her left reminded her of that very fact once more.

Tonight the girls had been roused from their slumber in order to pick ingredients and be taught how to gather. Ordering supplies from Hogs and Horrocks had worked well in the past but, after all the repair work Mr Blossom had to do with Mrs Bat's chanting classroom, the staffroom windows and the odd corridor or two, they simply couldn't afford it all. Using magic to fix everything was possible but what was the point of having a groundskeeper and repairman if he never had anything to repair?

Asking Mr Hallow for money on repairs that he had never heard of, and that the academy was not willing to admit to, was definitely not an option. So Constance created a quick and easy solution. The girls would collect ingredients once a week for potions to save the headmistress ordering and paying the delivery fees. Sure the ingredients needed a good wash afterwards and some of the girls picked inferior plants that Hardbroom deemed useless anyway, but it was working and slowly they were learning which were appropriate and which ones weren't.

* * *

><p>Mildred Hubble located a bush that held the ingredient she had been missing and, after consulting her textbook for confirmation, she carefully walked down the bank to collect it, Maud following along. Millie walked forwards and took a hold of a branch with one hand before moving a pair of scissors to cut her sample free. "Ouch!" She yelped, dropping the scissors and her basket.<p>

"Millie, are you okay?" Maud asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Millie answered, looking down to the small cut on her knuckle. "It's just a little cut that's all."

"Come along girls you should have everything by now!" Miss Hardbroom called making them group together where she was standing. "The last thing we need to collect are morning dew drops," she explained. "The best way to do this is to take one of the leaves from your basket, then cast a simple enlargement spell." The students watched as she put her lantern on the ground and lifted a leaf, demonstrating. The leaf enlarged to about the size of her slender hand. "Lay it on top of the grass but brace it with a rock to make sure that it won't blow away."

"Just before the sun rises, the change in temperature creates dew drops that moisten the ground. Each of them reflects a single piece of moonlight at the very centre. When the sun rises the power disappears. So, early in the morning, before the sun rises, we will all collect them and take them back into the castle to shelter them. Spread your leaves but don't make them too large or obvious to attract attention." The girls did as they were told, Ruby Cherrytree managing a leaf the same size as her potions teachers.

Mildred began casting the spell when her mouth widened and she covered it with her hand, causing the leaf to fall to the ground unchanged. "Mildred!" Hardbroom barked. "Focus girl we don't have all night!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Hardbroom," she sighed before another took control of her body making Constance roll her eyes and walk away.

Funny, Mildred hadn't been feeling tired. In fact she was convinced that she had passed the point of tiredness half way from the castle. The others certainly were. These midnight treks for ingredients always left the girls exhausted in the morning but at night they had never been more awake and alert. Maybe it was the fact that, without Miss Hardbroom's lantern to light their path and the moon up above, the grounds surrounding the castle were scary and they felt the need to stay alert should anything happen.

Mildred was usually more awake than others. She had admitted to Maud that she was afraid of the dark; though that was only a half truth. It wasn't just the darkness she was scared of but what lay beyond. What was hiding out of the eyes reach? Why was it there and when would it strike? Would it strike at all?

It always puzzled Mildred that Miss Hardbroom could remain awake during their trip outside and then still be fresh, early the next morning. Then again, she did have that bottle of Wide Awake Potion she found in her bag when she had been turned into a frog. She cringed at the thought of being turned into that again.

One yawn, then another, and another made her widen her mouth as tears of tiredness filled her eyes. "Okay girls let's start heading back!" Hardbroom commanded as she watched Mildred release another yawn. With her lantern guiding their path, the students followed their teachers quickening pace back to the castle. Jadu pulled her cloak around her shoulders tightly, her teeth chattering as another cold gust of slices straight through her uniform and cloak. "W-why d-d-does it always have to b-b-be so c-cold?"

"Not that going back into the castle will make it any warmer," Ruby added, walking beside her friend. It was true; in many cases it was actually colder inside the castle than out. The girls weren't walking into a warm room with a fireplace, marshmallows and hot chocolate; but a cold and dark room with the bare necessities, a cold hard bed and sheets that refused to warm who lay beneath them no matter what position they curled into.

Mildred walked, trudging behind the group before her foot slipped and she landed forwards into the Earth. Maud quickly helped to steady her back onto her feet while Enid slowed her pace to join the two who had recommenced their walking. "Are you okay Millie?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine...just tired that's all." Another yawn interrupted the silence between the two.

"Girls! Will you hurry up?" Miss Hardbroom called, pivoting on her heel to look at those lagging behind. "Although I am sure that you are enjoying the night sky and cool temperature your other class mates are eager to return to their beds."

"Yes Miss Hardbroom," they chorused at once before walking up the hill and toward the castle doors. Constance reached the ancient oak and slowly pushed it open, counting each student as they passed and ticking off the invisible roll located inside her head. "Leave your ingredient baskets at the bottom of the stairs and go directly to your rooms girls. I will see you all first thing in the morning to collect the dew drops!" Her commands echoed off the walls as girls moaned goodnights to each other before half walking, half stumbling up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Constance turned her gaze from the stairs and back out the door noting that three of her students were yet to return. Then she heard two voices, slowly growing in volume as they reached the castle. "Maud, Enid! Hurry to bed!"<p>

"But Mildred is still behind, Miss Hardbroom," Maud explained when she reached the doors, the light from the lantern reflecting in her glasses.

"Go to bed I will wait for her," she sighed, a little exasperated. Why did Mildred always have to be the last back into the castle at night? Sure the moon and the stars were beautiful but all girls needed their sleep. It would make the following lessons less hazardous if they all had a few good hours of rest, many of the schools most memorable mistakes occurred when a student fell asleep at their desk or slurred their spell incantations.

If she had been given the opportunity to rest at Witch Training College she would have taken it with both hands. Lying in bed and savouring the slow beating of her heart, while her body was offered a chance at recovery, was something she wished she had been able to have in the past. Though she never had the chance and didn't understand why students would wonder the halls at night - deprive themselves of sleep willingly. Though, who was she to lecture? She hadn't slept a wink in the past three months and the only moments that she did allow herself to rest were interrupted with Mistress Broomhead's taunts and the memories of people she would never be able to see again.

Perhaps if the older witch had been easier on her then Miss Hardbroom wouldn't have developed such a habit. But she wasn't going to let any of her students end up the same way, they deserved better.

Maud and Enid didn't bother arguing; partially because there was no point, Miss Hardbroom always got her way, and the rest because they didn't have the energy to respond.

Waiting for another ten seconds she still saw no sign of the girl and with a huff; took her lantern and returned to the abyss waiting outside.

"Come along Mildred!" She called to a distant figure, noticing the way that she swayed from side to side on her feet. Quickening her pace Miss Hardbroom walked back down the hill to meet her, carefully moving past rocks as her boots heel entered the somewhat soft earth beneath her feet.

There she was. "Miss...Hardbroom-"her voice sighed into nothingness as her body began plummeting to the earth making Constance spring into action. Her feet rushed to her student's aid, carefully taking her falling form into her arms and lowering her to the ground carefully. "Mildred! Can you hear me?" No response, she had a fever, her forehead was red hot and her pulse was incredibly fast. "We need to get you inside," she muttered before using her magic to transport both Mildred and her ingredients back into the school. After using magic to lock the doors she transported the potion ingredient baskets to her room for sorting later the following day before helping Mildred to her room.

Carefully she levitated her body onto the bed and propped her head on top of a pillow. Once she was satisfied that the girl would be alright for the time being she crossed her arms and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Imogen Drill had been enjoying her dreams; she had just managed to hike one of the highest mountains in the world. The snow has crushed beneath her feet; she had jumped athletically over chasm after chasm and save the life of both herself and her fellow climber, Serge, on more than one occasion. Though, just as their lips were about to meet in a triumphant show of both their achievement and new grown affection there was a knock on the door.<p>

Miss Drill's eyes snapped open though she groaned and closed them again. Who on earth would need her help at this time of the night. Lifting herself up into the seating position and putting her bare feet onto the cold floor boards beneath, she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Who is it?" she droned before adding 'this had better be good' in her thoughts.

"Who else do you think is awake at this time of night," Constance answered and Imogen knew she wasn't going to go away. Lighting a candle by her bedside she walked to the door and opened it to see the stoic woman standing before her. She was tall, as usual, clad in her famous black dress, her bun in its usual position, but her eyes were telling her something wasn't right. Something had changed.

"What is it?" She finally asked.

"Mildred Hubble."


	2. Pulse

**AN: Hey everyone, **

**Again thank you for all the reviews! Seriously they were incredible! Just to let you know that like a few other authors for this fandom I will also be returning to uni for the year and updating time will be pretty limited (considering my timetable is absolutely abysmal!) though I do hope to get in at least one more update before my March 1****st ****start date.**

**Thanks to Restless Seas for beta-reading this chapter for me :) and to NCD for her continued support.**

**Chapter 2 – Pulse**

Imogen had to physically stop herself from rolling her eyes. Mildred Hubble. What on earth had she done this time to rattle the potion mistress and, more importantly, why did she have to do it at this ungodly hour of the evening; interrupting the only full nights rest she had managed since Broomhead's departure.

"Constance, I'm sure that whatever Mildred has done can wait until morning can't it?" She sighed, secretly awaiting a 'you're right it can wait' response that would grant her access to her bed once more. But Imogen knew the truth, whenever Constance Hardbroom was involved, nothing could wait.

"No it can't!" Hardbroom replied, putting her two spell casting fingers on Imogen's right shoulder and proceeding to transport them both to the young students room. Upon landing Constance stood straight and tall, crossing her arms and looking down to the unconscious form below her. Imogen on the other hand stumbled until her back hit the wall by Mildred night stand and took a moment to breathe. "I hate it when you do that to me without warning." She explained before she finally saw what Constance had been referring to.

Mildred Hubble lay silently on her sheets, her skin pale, hair plastered onto her face, sweat beading her forehead. Immediately Imogen hastened to the students side, placing the back of her hand on her student's forehead while inspecting the students almost death like pallor. Constance was right, something was wrong and it was Mildred Hubble. But, for once, Mildred wasn't the one to blame.

"She has a fever and cold sweat," Mrs Drill paused, removing her hand and proceeding to find a pulse point in her wrist. The vein pumped precious blood underneath the skin but it was proceeding way too quickly for Imogen's liking. "Her pulse is racing, this isn't good."

"I understand that," Miss Hardbroom answered softly. "I merely wondered what we may do to help the girl."

"Can't you just use magic to cure her?" Constance took a seat on the side of Mildred's bed with an exasperated sigh. Why did all non-witch folk think that a simple spell or enchantment could heal them of every possible ailment? Magic and medicine were two worlds that often crossed though neither of them had every possible answer. There were limitations to both and witches were not exempt from the kiss of death. Many had tried to beat it before, tried to obtain items and brew potions that would extend their lifespan by centuries, but none of them had worked. It was even started in the Witches Code, chapter 7, paragraph 21, line 3. 'Magic must not be used to bring back the dead or to extend the lifespan of the living.' And all those who dared to defy that one line had either ended up dead themselves or ruined their body and mind beyond repair.

There was only one documented witch who managed to save the life of her terminal sister by transferring her lifespan, taking her sisters final moments as her own and granting her the good fifty or more years she held in herself. The Witches Council had no idea that such a transfer could occur and, because there was nothing written inside the code about exchanging one life for another, she lived out her years in the best of her health, before she joined her sister in whatever lay beyond at the tender age of eighty nine.

Yes, magic had its boundaries and if they were crossed than only the worst consequences would result. Constance looked back to Imogen before she answered, somewhat tired at the thought of explaining yet another foreign concept to the non-witches innocent mind.

"Although you may believe, like many other non-witch folk, that magic can cure any ailment you would be wrong. I cannot just 'magic' her out of a sickness when we do not know its cause and even then magic has its limitations."

"How do we find out what caused it?" Miss Drill wondered when a groan to her left made the PE mistress place a comforting hand on the Mildred shoulder. "Mildred, open your eyes for us."

Mildred obliged, forcing her eye lids to rise and allow her eyes to focus, though it took several attempts before her vision cleared. "Mildred, do you remember what happened?" Mildred's eyes shifted between the two teachers but she couldn't remember what happened.

"You collapsed while we were collecting ingredients," Miss Hardbroom replied, trying to ignite a flame in Mildred's memory that would trigger its previous events though as Mildred's eyes began to close once more she realised that it didn't work.

"It's okay just try and rest," Miss Drill urged before Mildred's eyes closed, transporting her to the land of her dreams once more.

"Have you told Miss Cackle?" Imogen questioned, looking up at Miss Hardbroom's almost concerned eyes.

"No," she replied. "My first instinct was to tell someone who would react to the situation in the best way. Miss Bat would go around announcing a plague and Miss Cackle sleeps like a dead bear when she drops off so the only person left was you. I have potion expertise and medical knowledge but without knowing what is causing the problem I cannot help much."

"It wouldn't be Magic Lurgy, like what they used on Frank Blossoms Nephew Charlie?" Imogen wondered though Constance's quick and sharp 'no' shut down the argument immediately.

"I would have known if any magic was cast during the trip. Plus, it takes a while for Magic Lurgy to take effect. Mildred was perfectly fine before we left, then she returned like this."

"You didn't work them too hard?"

"Are you trying to question my teaching methods?" Miss Hardbroom yelled standing to her feet, the softer expression in her eyes hardening to rock as she crossed her arms. "Although I am harsh it is in the best interests of the girls. Collecting ingredients in the middle of the night is all a part of Potion making just like going for a morning run is part of your exercise routine or do I need to remind you, Miss Drill, that if I had been treating the girls exceptionally hard, that they would have all fallen ill at the same time?"

"I'm sorry," Miss Drill replied, standing to her feet. "Well she'll need to be watched tonight, we need a bucket of water and some cloth to try and keep her temperature down and she needs some uninterrupted rest." Imogen explained making Constance raise an eyebrow, no doubt she would end up with the task of watching the worst witch in the academy sleep.

"I suppose you expect me to be the one to do it then?"

"If you wouldn't mind but being the non-witch inside this castle I don't have the privilege of Wide Awake Potion or any other magical sleeping benefits," Miss Drill reminded, crossing her own arms and looking straight into Hardbroom's eyes.

She had caught the deputy mixing her latest brew just one month after Hecketty's attack on the school. Feeling the need to journey through the castle to clear her head, in vain, to get back to sleep; Imogen lagged through the corridors, yawning but never allowing her eyes to close.

It was then that she saw the flicker of a light from one of the potion laboratory windows and, considering that it was highly unlikely she would get any more sleep this particular evening, decided to investigate.

Standing at the front of the room was Constance, preparing her usual mix of ingredients into the cauldron. It was almost like she was making the draught in her sleep. Her hands reached for potion ingredients on the shelf without her needing to look for their location and somehow she managed to add one ingredient while remove another at the exact same time.

"You can stop watching me, Miss Drill," Constance spoke, taking the PE mistress off guard.

"I'm sorry, Constance," Imogen replied, opening the door and daring to enter with her slipper clad feet. "I couldn't sleep."

"It appears that the Sandman is playing his tricks on both of us tonight," Miss Hardbroom replied before Imogen closed the door and found a seat close to the front of the room. "What are you making?"

"Cake, Miss Drill," Hardbroom joked, though sarcasm edged each of her words. "What do you think I am making?"

"A potion to help you sleep?"

"No," Constance sighed slightly, flicking her wrist to turn to remove the flame below her cauldron. "A potion that does the opposite."

"One that keeps you awake? But why would you want that?" Constance released a breath before pouring the contents into a beaker, almost tranced by its midnight blue shade. "I have my reasons."

Imogen never understood exactly what those 'reasons' were, until she found herself inside a similar position, unable to sleep for the memories of that day still haunted her mind. Whenever she closed her eyes she could hear Broomhead's voice, calling to her, fighting against her mind for control of her body. Now, standing before Miss Hardbroom, she wondered just how long she had been using the non-sleeping concoction and what effect it would eventually have on her body and mind.

Miss Hardbroom looked to the three bats, Winky, Blinky and Nod, stirring in their position on Mildred's shelf; possibly sensing their roommate's pain. It was then that she felt something pressing against her leg making her lower her gaze to find the culprit. Sitting on the cold wooden floors was Tabby, rubbing his neck against the witches boots like some sort of scratching post. Bending down she took the cat in one hand and handed it to Miss Drill who nearly dropped the poor thing onto the ground.

"If I look after Mildred then you look after the cat. We don't need any unnecessary animals jumping around her while she tries to sleep." With a nod Imogen adjusted the bundle in her arms before making her way to the door. "Good night, I will check on her in the morning." Constance didn't reply with words and chose to focus her efforts on creating a bowl of water and some towels for her to use instead.

Imogen closed the door behind her, watching a sign appear before her eyes. 'Do not disturb under any circumstances, Miss Hardbroom' she read inwardly before scratching the scruff of Tabby's neck and making her way through the cold castle and back to bed. "Why couldn't she just materialise us there to save us walking?" She grudged before shaking her head and resisting the urge to face palm herself. "Why am I talking to a cat?"

* * *

><p>The following morning brought the promise of a new day for all. The sun's rays happily shone over the castle, like a protective beacon that reminded them that every day had a beginning and end. Constance sat quietly reading over her student's potion book, noting the odd scribble she had written here and there to make herself remember while the sweet melodies of birds sounded in the distance.<p>

Song lyrics and rhyming techniques, even the odd acronym for ingredients lists were hand written along the margins. "Mildred, Mildred, Mildred," she tutted, turning another page with her slender finger. "When will you learn the ingredients by memory instead of song?" Mildred suddenly groaned, making Constance lower the book and take the cloth from her students head, putting it into the basin of water she conjured earlier and wringing it with her bony hands. Carefully she folded it once more before reapplying it to her forehead, watching her student's tired eyes take in every motion she made.

Mildred had never seen HB like this before. She was kind, gentle and caring. She had been sitting there all night, trying to help her break the fever. She hadn't said a word, or yelled at her for getting sick, she just sat there, quietly reading over her potion books and offering a comforting word every now and then, encouraging her to sleep and to rest.

Feeling the cool towel on her forehead as Constance replaced it Mildred wonder if this was real. Was it all a dream, a hallucination, a vision? And if it wasn't then what did this mean? That all the thoughts she had about Miss Hardbroom being this strict and unemotional person were false? That the infamous HB had a heart?

She had seen her true heart on more than one occasion when Constance stood inside the line of fire and risked her life to save the academy and its students, but she had never seen this side before. The quiet, almost soulful side of her potion teacher; it was both beautiful and unnerving at the same time.

"Just try and rest, Mildred," Constance spoke softly. "Close your eyes and get some sleep." Mildred obliged, allowing the heavy lids to close, wondering if when she opened them she would be inside Hardbroom's potion class, the other students snickering as her teacher bellowed reprimands and gave her lines stating 'I must not fall asleep in class' to be written five hundred times.

* * *

><p>Enid always hated the mornings. It wasn't just that she would rather spend the first half of the day in bed but because she had potions with Miss Hardbroom. Groaning she looked to a watch sitting on her nightstand and checked the time. It was odd. Seven thirty in the morning and HB hadn't knocked on her door, forcing her outside into the bitter cold to collect their overnight dew drops. "Huh, that's weird," she mused before placing her feet against the cold floorboards and getting ready for another day of work.<p>

Maud Moonshine was also contemplating the time as she looked to her bat Barney, dangling from the rafters. "But HB's never late," she sighed.

Once ready the two girls exited their rooms to meet each other almost face to face. "Morning," Maud sighed.

"Morning," Enid punctuated with a yawn. "Man I hate midnight potion hunts."

"Girls!" Miss Drill's voice echoed down the hallway. "Catch him!" They weren't sure of what she was referring too until Mildred's cat, Tabby, came scampering towards them. Quickly Enid headed him off before Maud picked him up into her arms.

"What happened to you, Miss Drill?" Enid questioned, referring to the tired bags under the PE teachers eyes.

"He just ran away that's all," she answered a little out of breath from running around the castle trying to catch the cat. Though part of her admitted that it was a good morning workout the other part was too tired to care.

"Well we should take him back to Millie, come on Enid."

"No!" Miss Drill called making them both stop in their tracks while she tried to think of a plausible excuse. "Y-you can't see Mildred... she isn't to be disturbed."

"What do you mean?" Enid asked.

"Is she alright?" Maud added.

"Yes," Miss Drill lied, a little too quickly for her own liking. "Miss Hardbroom needed her for something." It sounded convincing, even though the two students before her both shared the same fleck of wonder in their eyes, HB asking Mildred for help with something? That was about as likely as Ethel Hallow failing her senior year, it was not possible.

"Help her with what exactly?" Enid inquired, her eyebrows rising into her fringe as she spoke.

"With sorting out the ingredients collected last night," Imogen explained, hoping that this excuse was at least a little bit plausible. "Tabby hasn't had anything to eat just yet, I found him in my room this morning, I have no idea how he got there but can you put him in your room Maud?"

"Sure," Maud replied, opening the door and putting Tabby inside with Midnight.

"Now off you go to breakfast." She coerced, making the two trudge to their new location. Resisting the urge to wipe invisible sweat from her brow Imogen took two deep breaths before she walked down to the staffroom and opened the door.

* * *

><p>Sitting at the table with eye brows furrowed in concentration was Amelia, mulling over today's puzzler page inside the morning paper. "Good morning, Imogen," she greeted, lowering the paper for a moment and looking over her glasses. She took a sip of tea from her cup before her smile faded at the lack of a friendly response from her employee.<p>

"It is a good morning isn't it?"

"Its Mildred Hubble," Imogen began as she took a seat across from the staffroom table. "She fell ill last night when Constance took the girls out on their potion ingredient hunt." The paper hit the table.

"How bad is it?"

"She's running a fever, her pulse is extremely fast. I asked Constance if we could help her with magic but because we don't know what caused the problem we don't know how to fix it."

"Miss Hardbroom is right, magic and medicine are two different things. Maybe one of Miss Bat's medicinal potions will help her?"

"I don't think so," Miss Drill replied shaking her head and remembering the terrifying ingredient list that she used for Charlies 'so-called' miracle cure. She couldn't let Mildred drink that stuff. "Look, Miss Hardbroom has been watching her overnight. I told her that I would check in on her this morning and was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

"Yes of course," Miss Cackle muttered as she stood from the table and started to follow Imogen from their staff room. Though, just as they reached the door, a white canvas painting burst through, swaying from one side to another while a mild humming resonated from beneath.

Stepping backwards the two bemused teachers exchanged an uncertain glimpse before the sheet lowered to reveal Miss Bat's unruly hair curls and thousand watt smile. "Well...What do you think?"

To be honest, they didn't exactly know what it was supposed to be. It looked like one of the girls had thrown paint all over the canvas, flicked parts of different colours along with a paint brush and...Was that a cat's paw print in the corner?

"Uh, it's lovely, Davina," Miss Cackle replied, rather half heartedly. Miss Bat's smile disappeared and her eyes became fierce. "You hate it!" She screamed before throwing the painting into the luckily unlit fireplace and slamming the cupboard door behind her.

Miss Cackle took a deep breath and released it while Imogen gave a slight shoulder shrug and they both exited the room; Miss Bat's mutterings echoing through the cupboards walls and into the now empty room surrounding them.

Wiping the seat from Mildred's brow once more Miss Hardbroom rinsed the cloth in the water and then began to pat it over her head again. Mildred's eyes were twitching like she was stuck inside a nightmare she could not awake from. Constance knew that feeling all too well herself.

Just as she placed her fingers on the students wrist to check her pulse once more the door opened and Miss Cackle entered with Imogen closely behind. "How is she?"

"Worse," Miss Hardbroom replied. "Her pulse has increased, the sweating is getting more and more perfuse, the fever is continuing and the water is doing nothing to help. I can't get the fever to break."

"She does look poorly," Miss Cackle sighed, inspecting her students pale complexion yet rosy red cheeks. "What do we do Constance?"

"We find out what caused this and then I may be able to develop a potion to help."

"But how do we find out what happened?" Imogen wondered

"Without making the other girls suspicious," Amelia added. "The last thing we need is mass worry on our hands. Maybe Maud or Enid might know what's happening. You have them both for PE later this afternoon don't you Miss Drill?"

"Yes I do. But when I saw them this morning they didn't look like they knew anything."

"How do you mean, Imogen?"

"I mean Tabby escaped from my room," Constance rolled her eyes; she couldn't trust that non-witch with anything could she. "But I asked Maud to look after him and she didn't know why Mildred couldn't do it. I told her that Miss Hardbroom needed her to sort potion ingredients."

"And they said nothing about what happened last night?" Constance inquired to which Imogen shook her head from side to side. "Neither of them said a word."

"Alright then new plan," Amelia intervened. "Imogen will stay with Mildred this morning while Constance you go and deal with your second year potion class," Constance knew what Amelia was implying though she would never say it out loud. She was hoping that Enid and Maud would respond to a more forceful approach, and one the likes of Miss Drill would not be able to see straight through.

"I will conduct Spells with the third years while Miss Bat does the first. In the afternoon Constance will reassume watching Mildred while Imogen teaches her PE class. Everyone agreed?" A nod from each member of staff was enough before Miss Cackle walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Constance looked up at Imogen, whose eyes could not be pried away from her student's condition.

"I wish we could do something more."

"We can," Constance stood to her feet. "I will find out what's causing this," and with that she crossed her arms and disappeared.

"I truly hope so."


	3. Golden Dewdrop

**AN: Hi everyone and thanks again for all the reviews from the last chapter! :) I got a huge case of writers block on this, hence its lateness, but here it is finally. I'd just like to note that I am no expert in the world of medicine. Hopefully anything I research is accurate and I will use magic to explain anything else (thank heavens for the world of magic).**

**I'd like to thank Restless Seas for their beta-reading of this chapter and NCD for their always incredible support. Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Golden Dewdrop<strong>

Enid wiped her tired eyes with her hands, hoping to encourage a focus that would make the world look like it hadn't been eclipsed in fog while Maud nervously began cleaning her glasses against the sleeve of her shirt. They and the rest of the class were waiting for the academy's backbone to come down the stairs, charge through the doors, out of Walkers Gate and to their location. However, she didn't show up. For the first time that any of the girls could remember their potion mistress was late.

Just three months before she had walked into the great hall with confidence and control even though she had been destroyed mentally and physically just the day before. But, if she could return even with wounds so deep once before then what had happened this time to stop her arrival?

Drusilla tapped her foot impatiently on the floor below, she hated waiting for anything. "She's late, but HB's never late!" She exclaimed making Ethel roll her eyes, why did her companion have to be so impatient.

"That usually means that something's gone wrong; probably has to do with Hubble." The mention of her friends surname made Maud snap into defence mode.

"Just because you think something's wrong doesn't mean that Millie's involved."

"Well then why is she the only one missing?" Ethel did have a point, Maud hadn't seen Mildred all morning and whatever opportunity she had taken was swiftly stopped by one of the staff.

"All I know is that the last time HB didn't show up to class was when she was resigning," Enid reminded her, but before any of the students could even let the notion of HB leaving the academy enter their minds her voice hollered through the hall. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you Enid Nightshade." She appeared before the door, arms crossed and back straight. "Start moving out girls," she instructed, flicking her right hand and making the doors swing open to allow the morning sunlight to shine through.

"But, Miss Hardbroom, isn't it a little late for us to collect the droplets? They have probably lost their power in the sun." Ethel questioned.

"Well there is no time like the present to check," Miss Hardbroom replied making Maud and Enid smile. Together they filed outside the school gates, Miss Hardbroom leading the charge with her usual power walk as the girls followed closely behind, almost skipping in order to keep up with her stride.

Finally beginning to descend the hill they arrived at their destination, a patch of bright green grass near the flowing brook. "Take all of the drops you collected on your leaves and into your sampling jars."

"What about Mildred's?" Asked Maud before Miss Hardbroom sauntered over, picked up her leaf and emptied the droplets into her own container before she returned the leaf to its original size and allowed it to drift back onto the grass. "Problem solved." She pivoted on her heel to inspect the others as Maud and Enid knelt to collect their own.

"Where is she?" Maud whispered. "I thought she'd be with Hardbroom?" Enid shrugged her shoulders before carefully folding her leaf in half and pouring the liquid into her collection jar.

"I don't know but if she doesn't show up soon I think a full scale search is in order." Maud nodded in agreement before Hardbroom returned to check on them. "Maud, Enid, can I ask you something?" They looked to each other, a little confused, since when did Miss Hardbroom ask if she could ask a question? Usually she just demanded an answer. Together they stood to attention.

"Yes Miss Hardbroom," Maud answered.

"Last night, on our potion ingredients outing, did anything happen to Mildred?" They both thought for a moment but their minds were a blank.

"What do you mean 'anything'?" Maud asked.

"Anything unusual or anything strange?" They both shook their heads, nothing strange had happened, as far as they remembered, other than Mildred's sudden tiredness on their way back to the castle and..."Wait there was something," Maud remembered. "Mildred was finding an ingredient inside a bush when she cut her finger. I asked her if she was okay but she said she was fine."

"Do you remember where the incident happened?" Maud shook her head making Constance suppress a sigh.

"No, sorry, it was dark and to be honest everything looked the same."

"I need you to remember where it happened." Miss Hardbroom was desperate. There was no possible way that she could search every tree, bush or shrub inside and around the castle in time to help her students deteriorating condition. At the rate Mildred's illness was progressing there was no telling what the consequences were and if, heaven forbid, it should spread to anyone else. They needed a cure but before that they needed a cause.

Maud wracked her brain, trying to shuffle through the vague memories of the night before, starting when they left the academy's doors. They collected all their ingredients, Mildred pointed to a bush that held the ingredient, she followed, and then she cut her finger right before Miss Hardbroom called them near the river.

"I think it was somewhere close to here, by the river, before you called us to meet you." Constance accepted the answer before turning to the others. "Alright girls! Hurry along we don't have all day so let's start heading back."

"Miss my leaf isn't here," Drusilla wined making Constance roll her eyes for a moment.

"You can share with Ethel."

"Why do I have to share with her? She's the one who forgot to use a stone to keep it in place."

"Alright," Miss Hardbroom interrupted. "You can use Mildred's instead. Everyone back to the castle and into class - we have a lot of work to do."

* * *

><p>Miss Drill released another sigh as she looked around the room she had spent a good few hours sitting in. Mildred's fever was slowly getting worse though she had awoken more than once in the morning light, looked to her PE mistress in a daze and then fallen back to sleep. She wondered for a moment if Mildred even knew what was happening to her, if she was trying to tell her what happened but her body was preventing it. But she decided that she didn't know what to think.<p>

Imogen had never been this ill before, her immune system was fuelled by the right fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains that all people should abide by eating and her physical condition kept everything in top shape. The worst she had ever been was when she got lost on a hiking track and had to sleep in the woods overnight. A simple cold was her only punishment during the time. This illness was on a whole new level.

She supposed that the castle's sleeping conditions weren't the best and the academy had been through its fair share of epidemics in the past because of it. But this was something different, something new.

Mildred's body was fighting something, an internal force that was breaking her down but it was still fighting. The real question was what she was fighting against.

Just as she lifted another warm towel from Mildred's brow and wet it inside the bowl of water the door opened and Constance stepped inside, closing it behind her. "She cut her finger," she explained simply "on a plant."

"But what kind of plant?" Imogen wondered as shifted Mildred's right hand and saw the cut on one of her fingers.

"I'm not sure but have asked Miss Bat to come and look after Mildred while I go and search for it myself. In the meantime the girls will be finishing their lunch. It's your turn for student watch duty."

"Do you think you will be able to find what it was?" Miss Drill questioned.

"Of course I will!" She snapped, almost offended by her colleague implying that there was a chance she may fail.

"I just wanted to –"

"Make sure," Miss Hardbroom interrupted. "I will find out what is causing this."

Miss Bat suddenly burst through the door nearly knocking Constance over as she rushed to the pale, sweating and shivering Mildred on the bed. "Good heaven's! She's worse than I thought!" She shrieked, kneeling to her side. Constance watched the Chanting teacher practically steal the cloth from Imogen's hand before she whispered sweet nothings in the student's ear and proceeded to help the girl.

"Well!" She shrilled, turning to the other two teachers watching her every move. "Go! Find out what's causing this." Constance nodded her head before Miss Drill stood from her chair and excited the room.

"For once Davina, I agree with you."

* * *

><p>Miss Drill hurried down the corridor, swerving past the girls exiting the dining hall before she reached the main courtyard and felt the sun shining against her face. Her student's were already outside waiting. "Good afternoon girls," she sighed rather flustered from the running.<p>

"Afternoon Miss Drill," the girls chorused.

"Alright," she paused before opening the sports shed door, her hand shaking slightly as she fit the key into the padlock and pulled it down, removing the pin and opening the latch. "Everyone get in pairs and take out a volleyball so we can start some drills."

* * *

><p>Constance appeared outside the schools protective walls and began making her way to the river, carefully looking for anything that could help her locate the illnesses source. Remembering what Maud had told her and the direction she had been looking at when she spoke, Miss Hardbroom decided it would be best to take that course.<p>

The peace and serenity of the bright green grass, the birds chirping and the clear blue sky was a stark contrast to the state of the school on the inside. First Mistress Broomhead's visit and now this, just when they were finally pulling themselves together the seams were becoming unsown.

* * *

><p>Maud placed a hand to her mouth to cover her yawn before Enid caught the ball in mid-air. "Maud, if you don't focus you'll end up with a volleyball in the face."<p>

"Sorry Enid, throw it again," she instructed making her friend oblige. Enid threw the ball into the air, aiming just before Maud who dug the ball back to her. Enid caught the ball and repeated the action again along with the others in their class; Miss Drill watching closely and explaining proper volleyball technique to those who were struggling.

* * *

><p>Reaching the river side Miss Hardbroom saw three bushes, each in the same size and stature, and assumed that it was the most logical place to start. She walked to the first, looked at the exterior leaves before moving a branch to the right in order to inspect the central trunk. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to hide within so she moved onto the second, hoping for a better outcome and that she wouldn't need to use a potion or spell to extract the memory of that night from Maud's subconscious.<p>

Yes it was dangerous magic but something used on victims when searching for a perpetrator and had become fairly common practice inside the magical world. Of course the person had to be a willing participant, memories couldn't be downloaded from someone's mind for ones amusement but rather to find or locate a particular sequence in time that had been forgotten and to search it for evidence.

Constance Hardbroom would never say yes to that kind of treatment herself, she enjoyed her privacy just as much as others, and the thought of someone prodding inside her head to try and find something was disturbing; especially when she was so knowledgeable in the art of hiding her true emotions and locking memories away where no one, not even she, would have to remember. But if it needed to be done to save the life of a student she was sure that Mildred's best friend would be more than willing.

* * *

><p>Another yawn from Maud made Miss Drill catch the ball just before it hit her on the forehead. "Maud, what's the matter with you?"<p>

"I just feel tired," Maud replied before another yawn widened her mouth and her eyes suddenly unfocused. "Really...tired." Her knees buckled, sending her body tumbling to the ground. Miss Drill quickly dropped the ball and caught her just in time. "Maud! Maud! Can you hear me?"

* * *

><p>The second location had proved useless though it did give her an idea for a potion that she could make with her fourth year students. Finally she reached the third and moved an exterior branch slightly to see something unusual. The rest of the plants leaves were a beautiful and lush green but this was almost gold in colour.<p>

Constance's eyes squinted as she made out what looked like tiny thorns extending from the smaller branches and crisp tough leaves. Carefully she materialised an empty specimen jar in her hand, opened the lid and proceeded to trap one of the leaves between the lid and lip of the container. Pulling it away she closed the lid, inspecting what lay inside when her hands quivered and her heart suddenly weighed heavy in her chest.

The jar fell to the grass below with a quiet clink as Constance placed a hand to her head and cradled the other over her abdomen.

"I have a test for you Constance," spoke the all too familiar voice of her old school tutor.

"What is it, Mistress Broomhead?" A young but not entirely innocent witch responded. She had changed a lot since her first few days at the academy, now walked the halls with a posture as straight as a pole, her bun was perfectly spelled in place, her boots clicked alongside as she followed her teacher from classroom to classroom, perfecting her abilities at potions and spells but it was her private sessions at night where the real testing began.

"I want you," she began, leading Constance into an abandoned potion laboratory and motioning for her to take a seat close to the door. She did so while Hecketty closed the wooden oak behind them and strutted to the front desk. "But Mistress Broomhead I can't see what you are demonstrating."

"That's alright, Constance, tonight I will not be demonstrating anything. I want you to, using the ingredients given here, create an antidote."

"To what?" She questioned, her eyebrows furrowing with wonder. She wasn't sick and she didn't know anyone else inside the manor who had contracted illness or disease.

"To this," she smirked, suddenly disappearing. The next thing Constance felt was something sharp cutting through her flesh. She tried to move away but her body was stuck to the chair, her arms glued to the handles and her back immovable against the backboard. She looked to her right to see her tutor, running a sharp leaf through the skin on her hand inside one large long stroke, causing blood to ooze from within to the surface where it became crimson and dripped to the floor.

She proceeded to do the same to the other hand as Constance bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming out in agony. When it was all over Mistress Broomhead dropped the leaf to the floor just in front of her and moved towards the door. "If you pass this test and make the antidote you will live, if you don't...well, the poison will take its effect and kill you. A terrible fate I know but one that is avoidable. If you can find the ingredients and brew them to perfection before it's too late."

"Y-you can't do this," Constance replied but all she was granted was a smile.

"I'm afraid Constance, your fate, is in your hands now, not mine," and with that she left, closed the door and the spell on her chair was broken. The young girl scrambled to the floor, found the leaf stained with her blood and stumbled to the table that she almost knocked over. She flicked through book after book, trying to find the right spell, the right ingredients list, anything that could help.

Then she finally found it, the plant and the antidote and read through the process, carefully mixing the draught but the symptoms had already begun. Her hands grew tired and shook but she had to do it, to keep on stirring the potion, to keep an eye on it. She had to stay awake, she just had to. Rushing to another cauldron while the original potion matured she began throwing ingredients into it, igniting the flame and brewing what would become her choice potion of the night; wide awake potion.

She couldn't fall asleep and die, not check the potion, not take it when it was fully matured, if she did fall asleep on the cold hard stone floors below then she would never wake up. That much was certain. So she swallowed the bluish liquid, coughed at the taste of it burning her throat before she sat at the desk and rested her head, fighting against the sweat that covered her brow, the temperature that burned her body and yet plagued her with cold shivers. How swollen and sore her hands had now become, regardless of the bandaging that she had strapped tightly to try and stop the flow of blood from contaminating her potion.

She attempted to open the door but found it locked, there was no escape. How many others had died in this room? Died trying to cure themselves from an injury caused by another? Died after being touched by Golden Dewdrop.

That was it; Constance's mind flashed back to the present and she tried to regulate her breathing though found it impossible. When her memories resurfaced they came quickly and without warning, this one had nearly swept her off her feet. Quickly she picked up the container and crossed her arms, hoping that she wasn't too late.

* * *

><p>Miss Cackle had been staring at the type writer for the past three hours, trying to determine whether Mildred's current condition was enough to write home about or not. She didn't want to look like the school hadn't had its fair share of crisis with health, they had on many occasions seen the very worst of the worst, incidents where students and staff were incapacitated by illness but all became well in the end.<p>

But when Constance Hardbroom, the usually calm and private potion mistress and deputy, wide eyes and worried entered her office short of breath and of reasoning Amelia realised that maybe things would never turn out well this time. "What is it Constance?"

"Golden Dewdrop," she forced making Miss Cackle rise to her feet.

"But that's impossible, for that to be growing near the school."

"Well it is, a whole branch hidden inside one of the bushes near the river," Constance placed her hand forward to show Miss Cackle the glass bottle, within was the offending material. Miss Cackle took the container and inspected through her glasses. It was hard to believe that such a small and innocent looking leaf could cause the symptoms she had seen Mildred suffering from before.

"Mildred was cut by this?"

"Yes Headmistress," Constance replied as she reached forwards to take the bottle and Amelia obliged by passing it to her. Constance turned to exit the room and begin working on the cure; she needed to start now otherwise Mildred wouldn't have time and to remove any reason for the headmistress to question her about her undignified state upon entering.

"Wait Constance...What's that on your hand?" She stopped dead in her tracks before looking down to her right hand, a small graze on one of her knuckles shone brightly against the pale white background. Miss Cackle stepped forwards to inspect the cut when Constance stepped away, pulling her hand from her reach. "Let me look."

"No, it's contagious," Constance replied. "It's transferred through sweat and touch."

"But then that means – "

"That anyone who has had contact with Mildred Hubble for the last twenty four hours is about to get very sick."


	4. Quarantine

**AN: I can't believe it's been over two months since I last updated this story! Sorry it's been so long, luckily the holidays are fast approaching which should mean (theoretically) more time to catch up on my writing :) Thanks for the reviews and for being patient.**

**Special thanks go to Restless Seas my beta-reader and NCD :) **

**Here is chapter 4, please enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Quarantine<strong>

Imogen's feet pounded against the flagstone pathway as she and Enid balanced Maud's weight between them. "What do you think is wrong with her?" The worried pupil to her right questioned but Imogen didn't reply. Her own mind was racing at breakneck speed, trying to make sense of what had happened when the answer was simple and staring her in the face. Whatever happened to Mildred was happening to Maud too, which meant that the virus could spread and spread fast.

Enid felt her teachers pace quicken, her grip on her friends arm sliding from her grasp. She quickly kept up, adjusting Maud's arm around neck while hoping for her teacher to give her some kind of assurance. Some words of encouragement like 'it's all going to be alright' or 'she just needs some water and she'll be fine' but none came which only meant one thing, something bad was happening and her teacher didn't know what.

They were almost to Miss Cackle's office when Constance opened the door and saw the three of them. "Maud?"

"She's just like Mildred," Imogen replied and Constance could see the panic in her eyes, erupting to the surface like a volcano, unable to hide her fear. It was Enid's sudden interruption that brought the teachers out of what seemed to be a staring contest.

"Milded's sick?" She exclaimed before rolling her eyes slightly. "Well that explains a lot."

"Quickly down to the dungeons! I will get Davina and Mildred. You need to stay down there and do not touch anyone on your way," Constance ordered before hastening off to her destination.

"Why?" Miss Drill questioned and the potion mistress halted. "For heaven sake you're scaring us what is going on?"

"It's… Golden Dewdrop," Hardbroom finally uttered. It was the plant that caused her hours of pain, the plant that caused suffering of the body and death, the one thing that the academy did not need to spread like a wildfire, catching from student to student until all of them were doomed to a fate that was unimaginable. She couldn't possibly explain it all, for fear that in just ten minutes time the other students would be released from their classes and into the tiny halls that now seemed to suffocate her of oxygen.

"I'll explain more later. Just get downstairs now. Miss Cackle has already created some beds; each of you needs to take one."

"But Constance –"

"Just go!" She barked before racing up the stairs toward the girl's dormitories, her boot heels thumping the ground with each step she took. She had always been a determined woman, who walked with conviction and purpose, never had a foot been out of place. But, when she nearly tripped on the stairs and managed to catch herself against the wall just in time, she realised that the effects had already begun to take their toll.

* * *

><p>Miss Bat took the cloth from Mildred's brow and was about to replace it when Constance opened the door, slamming it against the stone. "Constance!" Davina exclaimed, finding the cloth leap from her hand and onto the floor as she gripped the black fabric of her dress, just over her heart. "You scared me."<p>

"Quickly! We need to get down to the dungeons," she explained, placing one hand on Miss Bat's shoulder and another on Mildred's. Closing her eyes she focused and they appeared in the dark, cold and gloomy hall. A series of beds, water basins, towels, glasses and jugs of water were all ready prepared. Carefully lying Maud Moonshine on one of the beds and pulling a blanket over her body, Miss Drill began to wipe the sweat from her brow as Enid sat on the bed next to her.

Mildred's tired and sick body appeared on the bed across from them with Constance and Miss Bat standing closely at her side. Without a word Miss Hardbroom walked to the door and closed it, pulling a wooden baton across before uttering a spell that made the door glow a light blue and then return to its usual oak colour.

Enid looked to Mildred and saw just how sick she was, speechless at her deterioration. "Why did you lock us in?" The question came from Miss Bat and broke the pregnant pause. Constance turned away from the wood, their gate to freedom, before she sat on a nearby bed. Her hands relaxed in her lap as she tried to select the right words that would cause the least amount of panic, but there was nothing.

Miss Drill placed the towel over Maud's forehead before she looked the Potion Mistress in the eyes. No one said a word. Then Constance took a breath into her lungs and parted her lips. "Mildred cut her finger on Golden Dewdrop. It is a poisonous plant that causes sleepiness, an increased heart rate, fever, cold sweat, vomiting and convulsions." The others were all quiet, Enid's eyes slowly descended upon Mildred before they returned to Miss Hardbroom again.

"So why are we all locked in here?" Imogen asked.

"Golden Dewdrop is extremely dangerous and contagious. It spreads from person to person by touch or sweat."

"So Maud got it by asking Millie if she was okay and by touching her arm that night," Enid explained, remembering the small details that had seemed so unimportant before. Such a small gesture and now it had turned into something dangerous. Maud's caring nature had put herself very life in jeopardy.

"I got it from Mildred," Imogen sighed.

"Me too!" Miss Bat realised making Miss Hardbroom stop herself from shaking her head.

"Yes Davina. Enid, you have come in contact with Maud so that means you contracted it as well."

"So what happens now?" Miss Drill questioned. "There must be something we can do!"

"There is… there is a potion, an antidote to the poison, to reverse the effects."

"So what are you waiting for?" Miss Bat exclaimed. "Make it!"

"I can't! It is dangerous for someone who has been infected to make the potion!" Miss Hardbroom rebutted, watching Miss Bat retreat into her shell. There was no cupboard for her to hide in and Constance half expected her to dart underneath one of the beds with her fingers in her ears, pretending that she hadn't heard a word. But she didn't. To her credit, Miss Bat nodded in acceptance. Of course it was a half truth, it was dangerous for someone who had been infected to make the potion, mostly because they would deteriorate beyond repair before they had a chance to see if it had worked or not. The fact that Amelia had point blank shot down her suggestion of giving everyone wide awake potion hadn't helped the situation.

Imogen noticed her colleague cover one hand with the other in her lap. "What happened to your hand?"

"While searching for our mysterious ingredient I grazed it on the plant which means its poison is in my blood stream. I will begin symptoms faster than you because I have contracted a direct dose, like Mildred, it may only take minutes before..." she paused as a yawn forced her to widen her mouth. "The first symptom," she explained.

"So what do we do?" Miss Bat asked quietly, her eyes wide and unblinking.

"Look after each other. Miss Cackle will organise some senior students to find the cure and to make the potion before it is given to us."

"How long will it take them?" Enid asked.

"Finding the potion, not very long, making the potion, about half an hour, waiting for it to mature… that takes eight hours."

"Eight hours!" Miss Drill cursed, standing to attention. "But Mildred might not have eight hours!"

"I understand that!" Miss Hardbroom snapped, towering over the younger witch as her boot clad feet propelled her skyward. "But the fact of the matter is that this is our only option! It's the only known draught effective against the plants poison, the only thing."

"There has to be something else to help her improve in the meantime!" Imogen's voice shrieked, growing in intensity with every word. "We can't just-"

"Do you have an alternative?" Constance questioned, inclining her head ever so slightly as her eye brows rose. The PE teacher stopped her rant and collapsed onto the nearest bed, looking to the floor while fumbling with her fingers.

* * *

><p>Miss Cackle frantically pulled books from her shelf; she inspected the index of one before throwing it to the ground and looking at another. Griselda appeared on her side doing the same, her hands shaking as she lifted the front cover and started through the pages. Fenella looked in the same state and guilt hit Amelia like a wave against the shore. She didn't want to rely on the girls so much, especially when the consequences of their possible failure were so large, but she had no choice. Constance needed to be with the others to help them as much as she could and Amelia needed an extra set of hands or two to help. Frank Blossom and Mrs Tapioca had their uses but when it came to matters of the magical world she preferred to steer away from overloading them.<p>

For once the fate of the school rested on Amelia's slumped shoulders. She had always bared the burdens of school decisions and life but never without Constance by her side. And now her life, all of their lives, were in danger and they needed her help.

"There it is!" Fenella announced, the Headmistress looking at the specimen jar that appeared on her desk. "Good, keep searching!"

* * *

><p>Miss Bat curled her knees up to her chest as she leant back against the stone wall behind her. She had taken the bed between where Constance now sat and Mildred's body lay. Enid was still standing at the back, her arms crossed and her focus fading. She didn't know what to think, what to feel, panic rose in her chest, she found herself unable to breathe and Imogen responded immediately, telling the girl to sit on the bed next to Maud as she rubbed circles on her back.<p>

"Just take deep breaths," Miss Drill directed.

"The reason the potion takes eight hours is because, after the brewing process is complete, the leaf has to be added to the broth." Constance's explanation about the process of brewing the potion had, for some strange reason, created a calming effect on Enid. "Once entered it takes eight hours for the poison to be removed from the leaf. If it's black at the end of the time, instead of gold, then the process has worked and it's suitable for human consumption."

"And what if it's still gold?" Enid asked.

"Then the process has to start again…another eight hours of waiting time. But I can assure you Enid that it will only take Miss Cackle and no doubt Griselda Blackwood and Fenella Feverfew as well, one go at getting it right. There is no need to panic."

"So we just have to sit and wait," Davina mussed from her position, still on the bed with her knees cradled to her chest, earning her the gazes of all the conscious people in the room. "For the poison to take effect?"

"Yes we do," Miss Hardbroom nodded, looking to the graze on her knuckle and then back to the group before her, all wanting a guidance that she just didn't have and answers that she never wanted to reveal.

* * *

><p>"I found it!" Griselda exclaimed, making the headmistress bolt to her side faster than her aching limbs could carry her. In the process she dropped the heavy volume she had been holding, making it thud against the floorboards below as swirls of dust particles flew through the air. The afternoon light shining through the windows and onto the desk that Griselda had now covered in books. Fenny stepped to her side, reading the inscription over the yellow stained pages. "Golden Dewdrop reversal potion."<p>

Amelia stepped between the two as they read the ingredients. "Wolfsbane, water collected at mid-night, pond weed, a pinch of spider's egg, golden dewdrop and…"

"What?"Miss Cackle inquired looking over her students shoulder.

"Eight hours of waiting time!" Griselda almost shrieked.

"Well then we better get started." Miss Cackle seized the book in her grasp and, holding it to her chest, ran outside the door and to the potion laboratory. Her two assistants followed closely behind as they snaked past bemused girls who wondered where they were going and why they were in such a rush. Seeing their confused faces reminded Amelia that she needed to address them all in an assembly, to explain the sudden time table changes that were in effect, but now wasn't the time.

Once through the door Amelia ignited a cauldron and started her work, pulling ingredients off the shelf as both girls measured them and then asked before adding them to the mix. Most of the time they were perfectly measured, a credit to Miss Hardbroom's teaching abilities, but Amelia didn't blame them for double checking that everything was perfect. One false move and the potion could be ruined and their teachers and friends could all be dead.

Everything was inside except for the spider's egg. "Be careful not to add too much, we don't want the potion over boiling," Amelia instructed to her pupil, whose own hands were shaking more than a bird perched outside in the freezing winter cold. Carefully Amelia extended her hands and took a hold of her pupils, feeling Griselda's fingers uncurl from the glass allowing it into the headmistress' possession.

She stared at the white grainy powder, wondering exactly what size of 'pinch' it needed. Spider's egg had the ability to make a potion stronger, useful in some cases, dangerous in many others. Too much could make the potion not just reverse the effects of the golden dewdrop but, possibly, have the opposite effect and speed up the process. It wasn't something that Miss Cackle wanted to happen, to be responsible for the deaths of her students; she didn't even want to think about the letters to write home, how to explain what happened to the guild, why she had kept it inside the schools walls.

Constance had told her that bringing the girls to hospital would only make things worse. Not only because that would require them to be inspected by a number of other people but because the infection could spread even faster. All it would take was one doctor to touch the girl's skin and then go on their rounds to see other patients and nothing good would come out of it.

Plus, the very fact that this was a magical disease, brought on by a magical plant rather than a natural occurrence made things, once again, more complicated. So, starring at the one ingredient that could change the academy's future forever filled Amelia with dread. Too much, the potion could be too effective or overpowering, too little, and it would do nothing at all.

Finally taking a breath she put her index and thumb into the mixture and took a pinch before carefully sprinkling it over the broth and listening to it bubble and brew.

Fenella passed the headmistress the specimen jar, containing the golden leaf that caused such chaos, and a pair of tweezers. Taking them between her fingers she fished for the leaf, fumbling every so often and dropping it back to the base three times, her own hands now shaking as panic set in and her adrenaline disappeared.

Once entered, the cauldron released a sizzle, and all three of them leant in for a closer look at the dark green mixture. "Now what?" Griselda questioned, lifting her gaze to meet that of her mentors.

"We wait for the mixture to turn blue," Miss Cackle read before closing the book, removing her glasses and pinching her nose. Her hands formed fists as they rubbed her eyes, trying to remove the headache that now pounded away like an African drum. "I think now would be a good time to call an assembly, can you sound the bell please girls?" They both nodded before exiting the room.

Amelia lifted her head before taking a few deep breaths, the bells echo resounding in the distance. "Come on Amelia," she whispered to herself, clenching her shaking fingers into fists. "You can do this."

* * *

><p>Ruby Cherrytree took her usual seat in the hall as the afternoon sunlight shone through the stained glass windows and onto the scuffed and battered stage. The three chairs to her left were all missing their occupants as the rest of the space continued to fill quickly. Chairs screeched against the floor boards, students gossiped and laughed about the day's events while others had looks of concern written in their features. When she asked Fenny and Gris what was going on neither girl would answer her, only adding to the questions rolling around her head like a mouse caught on a wheel.<p>

"I thought they would be back by now," she commented, making Jadu lean backwards in her chair to see the empty spaces. Lifting her gaze she noticed that all of the other students were now seated. "So did I," she admitted, facing forwards. "But Maud didn't look too good and I haven't seen Mildred for a while. Someone would want to show up soon or HB will have their heads on a stake if she sees their missing."

The doors at the back of the room opened as Miss Cackle and the two third year students stood on the stage. The girls found a strange and unnerving sensation slowly fill every corner. Hardbroom's familiar and yet dominating gaze was not watching their every move, Miss Bat wasn't humming to herself or taking her familiar place at the organ and Miss Drill wasn't standing by their side, her PE outfits the only colour against her usually black clothed colleagues.

Instead it was just Miss Cackle, all by herself. "Good afternoon girls," she greeted, noticing their silent reply but remaining calm and in control. "I'm afraid that the reason I called you all here is to address an issue that has been brought to my attention." She looked to their wondering eyes, their solemn faces; it was almost as if they could sense her fear, her dread.

"Miss Cackle," a soft voice beckoned, drawing the headmistresses gaze to Jadu. "Where are the other teachers?"

"And what about Mildred, Maud and Enid?" Ruby added making Ethel roll her eyes and cross her arms, Drusilla mimicking her behaviour.

"That is what we have to discuss. As of last night a virus entered the academy, one that has now affected the three classmates you just addressed as well as Miss Hardbroom, Miss Bat and Miss Drill." There was no way to explain the situation without panic, students were already restless, searching for answers, asking those around them what they thought, wondering if it would get them all.

"Will we all get sick Miss?" Sybil asked and the commotion stopped. It was the one question they desperately wanted an answer to.

"No, although the virus is contagious it can only be spread by sweat or touch. Those who have been affected have been quarantined inside the dungeons while a potion to cure them is created," Amelia explained. "In the meantime I have asked Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood to work as my assistants during this time."

"And what do you suppose the rest of us do?" Ethel asked, standing to her feet. "Just wait and see what happens? I don't think my father would approve of how this situation is being handled or of two third year girls suddenly being granted so much authority."

"At the moment, Ethel, my priority is to keep all occupants of this castle safe and, if that includes keeping those who are infected downstairs and away from you to stop the spread than that is what will happen. I am sure that both your father and any other parent would agree with my decisions if it meant that you were safe from becoming ill yourselves." Amelia turned to her right and looked to the two third-years standing side by side. "I trust these two girls with my life and that of your own because they are capable of handling a situation and following commands, not questioning them." Ethel slowly descended back into her chair, retreating from her previous stance as Sybil's head lowered further to the floor and Fenny and Gris smiled.

"So yes, you are right, for the time being we need to wait and see what happens but, by morning, this should all be over. In the meantime, I must ask you all to stay well clear of the lower levels of the castle and to remain inside the school grounds. Once dinner is served you are all to return straight to your rooms for the night. Can I just stress that this is not a time for panic. If you follow what I have said that no one else will be in danger."

"How serious is it Miss Cackle? The virus I mean." Asked Ruby, obviously worried for her friends.

"It's serious," Amelia answered. "But nothing that Miss Hardbroom and the others cannot handle. Dinner will be served in ten minutes. Thank you girls."

* * *

><p>Enid wrung the towel between her hands, watching each loose drop fall from the material and into the bowl, creating a ripple that slowly extended outwards. It made her think about the illness they would all soon fall victim too, it had just taken one of them to touch the plant and already it had spread so far. If Miss Hardbroom hadn't found the cause when she did the entire school could have been affected, and there was no telling how many others inside the wider community would have fallen as well.<p>

Luckily, they were the only ones, which made Enid conflicted within her own processing. Half of her was glad that they all hadn't fallen ill but the other half of her was scared. Since her previous breakdown she had managed to gain some sort of control over her emotions and had taken Constance's words to heart. They would be able to make the potion and give it to them, it would only take them one go, everything was going to be fine.

But then she wondered what would happen inside the next few hours. At the moment they were coping well, Miss Bat and Imogen would swap over looking after Maud while she and Miss Hardbroom treated Mildred but what happened when another of them fell? They could probably cope like that until another fell, and then, what if she was the last one left? What if all of the teachers and her friends were gone, dead to the world, and she had to do it all herself? What if one of them died?

Enid shook her head to bring clarity into her vision, refocusing on her goal of wiping Mildred's brow with the wet cloth. There wasn't time to think about negatives or to get ahead of herself. Instead of thinking about what she needed to do in the future she had to do what was right now, like their potion mistress had always taught them 'although the final result of the potion is important, missing details inside each step of the potions process can ruin its effects.'

* * *

><p>Miss Hardbroom was sitting on her bed, reading over a book she had found on a shelf at the back corner. For a moment the interested student wondered what she was reading and how it had drawn her focus for so long when a yawn punctuated the silence and Miss Hardbroom raised her hand to cover her mouth, understanding that she was due for another dose of her lifesaving wide awake potion.<p>

Miss Bat watched the tired deputy headmistress blink a few times to focus on the word before her and even she could see the truth, the pillar of strength they were leaning on was going to fall eventually. The beads of sweat on her forehead that she wiped away with a handkerchief, how straight backed she remained, oozing confidence and self-control even when the world around her was crashing to pieces. Davina couldn't help but admire her courage, but, at the same time, wonder how long she could keep up the charade.

Suddenly, Mildred's arms rose as she started to flail and defend herself from an unknown enemy. The three teachers snapped into position. "What did you do?" Constance questioned but Enid stepped backwards shaking her head to signal her innocence. Imogen took a hold of her hands and held them together to stop the terrified student from causing any damage to herself. "Mildred, it's ok, no one's going to hurt you."

Davina noticed her eyes, rapidly moving underneath her pale eyelids. "I think she's dreaming."

"You're right," Constance agreed, placing her hands against Mildred's shoulders and closing her eyes before channelling some of her magic into the frail student's body.

"Constance?" Imogen questioned, feeling Mildred's resistance to her help begin to subside, her muscles relaxing slightly. "Whatever you're doing it's working."

Another ten seconds and Miss Hardbroom broke the connection, stumbling backwards from the sudden exertion and placing a hand against the wall. Davina walked to her side. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she lied, her body felt like it was on fire, the fever burning like liquid flame through her veins, trying to fight against the poison. Nothing could truly be 'alright' about the situation that they found themselves in and the flicker of acknowledgement inside the elder woman's eyes caught Constance off guard. The two had never seen eye to eye, they stood for different principles, but both could not deny that their current predicament needed them as a united team.

"What did you do?" Imogen asked, breaking the silence. Constance took a deep breath before straightening her shoulders.

"I used a calming spell to help ease her mind with the last of my magic." Enid's eyes widened slightly, HB was powerless?

"Golden Dewdrop poison also blocks the natural channels that magic uses to pass through the body," Constance explained before releasing a stifled groan.

"I think it's time you sat down," Davina encouraged.

"No, I'm fine. It either stops the flow entirely or the magic, in an attempt to free itself from the poison, slowly expels to fight the infection. That's why –"she stopped, her eyelids drifting closed as she swayed on her feet. Davina placed a hand on the Deputy's arm and she flinched away, conceding defeat and walking towards the bed she previously occupied. Imogen took the cloth from Enid's hand and wiped Mildred's brow as her breathing regulated when they all heard a crash.

"Constance!" Davina yelled, rushing forwards with Enid by her side. Miss Hardbroom lay on the ground in a heap, forehead covered with sweat, her shoulders shivering and breathing shallow. Carefully the two helped the tall woman to the bed and lay her down before Enid stepped backwards and looked around her at the chaos.

Three down, three to go and seven hours were left on the clock.

* * *

><p>AN: I know there was a fair bit of explanation inside this chapter but I hope it wasn't too overwhelming. Like I said before, medicine is definitely not my area of expertise so anything I research will, hopefully, be accurate. I'm not sure if this fic will change to be rated M at a later point for safety but we'll see how the other chapters turn out first. Thanks for reading.<p> 


	5. The Waiting Game

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story thus far, hearing your thoughts truly means the world to me. Special thanks once again to NCD :) this chapter is un-beta'd, all errors are mine.**

**This chapter has one particular scene that was hard to me to write so I'm not sure how it will transfer when you read it but I guess I'll leave it up to you. Sorry for the two month delay.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 – The Waiting Game<strong>

Waiting… seven letters, three vowels, four consonants and one meaning…absolute boredom.

Fenella and Griselda had been sitting inside the potion laboratory for so long they had started reading through their potion books, picking out random words and asking the other to spell or break them down. Before this they had played a rather boring game of eye spy where most letters corresponded with just one or two things. P was for Potion, G was for Glass, C was for Cauldron or Cupboard and B was for Books, Bottles or Benches. It was only when Griselda used the letter W, corresponding to the spider sitting in the corner on its web, that they realised just how mundane the activities had become.

Sighing as she closed her book, Fenny leant on her head on the table, hearing the cauldrons brewing process continue, slowly bubbling away on its own as Gris checked it again. "You should really stop doing that."

"Doing what?" She asked.

"Looking at it all the time, it's only been twenty minutes since you last checked. You're starting to make me nervous." Gris conceded, sitting down and looking at the clock.

"Do you want to go and grab something to eat? Dinner is being served in the Great Hall now?" Fenny shook her head.

"I'm not hungry…you?"

"No," Griselda sighed, looking at the courtyard through the windows, the sun slowly disappearing, leaving shadows to crawl and linger in their positions for the approaching night. "Do you think they're okay down there?" The simple question had passed Fenella's mind more than once during their self distracting antics.

"I don't know, Gris. How would you be if it was you?"

* * *

><p>Miss Cackle entered the Great Hall, her shoes softly padding against the scratched wood as she made her way towards Mrs Tapioca and the line of students receiving their meals. Frank Blossom stood by the cook's side, helping to serve the girls who only offered small, hardly visible smiles in return for his efforts. When Amelia arrived he decided to voice what he was thinking in a firm but subtle whisper.<p>

"What is wrong with everyone?"

"Was there a potion test?" Mrs Tapioca added, knowing that usually it was the stress of having exams that would make the students on edge. "I've never seen them looking so depressed."

"May I have a word?" Amelia inclined her head towards the nearest door and the two followed her out into the cold corridor. "I'm afraid that we have a situation on our hands. A small epidemic."

"Bloomin' heck!"

"There is no need to panic, Frank," Miss Cackle replied, touching his forearm to calm him down before he panicked the entire school.

"How bad is it Miss Cackle?"

"It's affected all of the remaining members of staff and three students, Mildred, Maud and Enid. They are all being kept inside the dungeons for safety." Frank combed his fingers through his thin hair line. "What's caused all this then?"

"A poisonous and magical plant, I have enlisted the help of Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood to make the potion to help them recover. I am sorry for not informing you earlier, I have had my hands full."

"That's perfectly understandable," Frank acknowledged while Maria nodded her head courteously.

"I wouldn't usually ask this of either of you, because it is not a part of your day to day duties but, would you be able to make sure the girls finish their dinner and go straight to their rooms?"

"Of course, Miss Cackle," Maria replied. "Franco and I will do what we can."

"Thank you," Amelia smiled, though not a spark of it reflected in her eyes. "All of this should be over by tomorrow morning." She turned on her heel, leaving the two to discuss amongst themselves before walking towards the potion laboratory. It may have always been Constance's sanctuary; a place to revert to and hide from the stresses of daily life, but it was now Amelia's hell.

Waiting for that potion, with no way of knowing the outcome, was slowly sucking the very life from her bones. And every minute she spent sitting, starring, waiting for what she hoped, begged and prayed would turn out well, had taken every ounce of energy she had. Forcefully she told herself not to think about the bad, to imagine the door to the dungeons opening, all six of them walking out alive and well as if nothing had happened. But, the moment she stopped walking, and arrived outside the laboratory door, the opposite thoughts entered her mind.

What if the sun broke through the darkness the following morning and nothing would be the same again? What if instead of six living and breathing human beings she found six dead bodies, each with their spirit and soul departed to whatever lay beyond the veil of death. If she did the school would be closed, no longer would the sound of children muffle through the halls, or the school bell sound to mark each period of the day. No more discussions around the staffroom table. Nothing at all.

Shaking her head for a moment Amelia placed her hand on the doorknob and entered knowing that failure wasn't an option, not just for the Academy, but for everyone living within its walls.

* * *

><p>Miss Bat wiped a wet cloth over Miss Hardbroom's brow with light and delicate fingers. She had never been this close to the Potion Mistress without a threatening word before and was worried that she would awaken at any moment, reprimand her for being so close and return to her normal state. But it would not happen.<p>

The academy's strength and support had fallen, leaving the others with less than optimistic revelations about their current predicament. The three remaining hadn't said a word since, all of them wondering about their mortality and how long they could keep up this pace. Enid's nightmares were slowly coming true. Three down, three to go. They were coping now but if another fell it would only get worse. Although her own forehead was starting to burn she continued helping Mildred, keeping her cool and checking her pulse. She forced herself to focus on their target, getting out of this room alive.

Miss Drill let the cloth sit in the bowl by Maud's bed. She rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, slowly rubbing at her temples. "Are you okay, Miss Drill?"

"Just a headache, Enid," she replied to the floor before lifting her head painfully to look the worried student in the eyes. "I'll be okay." Her mouth widened as a yawn escaped and Miss Bat stood to her feet and marched towards her. "Lie down!"

"What?" Imogen asked. "No, Davina, I'm fine."

"No you are not! Stop lying to yourself and to us and get into the bed now!" Enid had never heard Miss Bat speak so clearly. Usually her words were fumbled with the odd murmur but now she spoke without fear, with a strength that she had never experienced before. If she didn't know better, it sounded like Miss Hardbroom had taken over her mind, though she perished the thought by remembering the last time possession occurred in the schools walls. The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention at the very thought.

Carefully Imogen stood to her feet, although they were a little shaky and weak, and walked around to the bed across from Constance's and next to Maud's. It would make it easier for Miss Bat and Enid to treat two people at once if they were all close together. Sitting on the edge she propped herself up with pillows, Davina helpfully plumping a few before helping to swing her legs around.

Leaning back with a sigh of relief she heard a bowl scratch over her nightstand as Miss Bat wrung a towel and filled another glass of water from a jug. She passed them both to Imogen who took a sip before wetting her brow. "Keep hydrated and using the towel as long as you can," Davina instructed, turning her gaze to Enid who had become suddenly quieter.

"Enid, are you alright?"

"Yes," she answered, though she wasn't sure how long she would be.

* * *

><p>Amelia was tired. Her body craved a rest that she just couldn't have. Her limbs ached for the confines of her bed but her brain and heart kept her awake, stopping her from walking up the stairs to her bedchamber, stopping her from being anywhere else but where she was now. Sitting inside the potion laboratory, and watching Griselda and Fenella taking shifts at looking at the potion, filled her with pride. They had both worked so hard.<p>

Looking at the time she sighed, three hours had passed; five more to go and the seconds seemed to tick along in slow motion. "Girls," she spoke softly, waking Fenella as Griselda lifted her head. "I'm going to get an update on their condition. Can you continue watching the potion?" Both girls nodded silently before Miss Cackle walked out of the door and headed for the dungeons, a single candle the only thing that lit her path.

* * *

><p>Enid walked around the room and lit as many candles as she could find to help illuminate the dark spaces. Placing a candle next to each bowl of water and towel, she moved one next to Imogen who was still going strong. She hadn't fallen asleep yet but was obviously getting worse. Her forehead was hot, drops of sweat slowly slid down her face, even though her teeth chattered and her hands shook with the cold. She desperately wished that the potion would hurry up, that time would give them a reprieve from this suffering, but knew it would still be a long way off and the only thing that could help was the water by her side. Sadly though, each time she reapplied the towel to her forehead the less of an effect it was having. There was a knock on the door making Miss Bat jump slightly.<p>

"Who is it?" She called.

"It's Amelia! How is everyone?"

"Not too good Miss Cackle," Miss Bat answered, walking to the door and placing one hand against the ancient hardwood. "Constance is down with the fever, Imogen's still awake but she's not looking any better. Mildred and Maud are still the same."

"How are you and Enid?"

"We're okay… but please tell me that the potion is coming."

"It is Davina just hold tight," Amelia reassured. "Do you need anything? Food? Water?"

"To be honest we don't even have time to think down here," Davina sighed. "We have too much to do and it's not getting any better."

"The potion is only," Miss Cackle paused looking to her watch. "Four and a half hours away."

"Sorry to say this Miss Cackle but that's just not fast enough," Enid called when Mildred suddenly began fidgeting on the mattress, the bed frame squeaking and clattering against the wall as her head threw itself back and her muscles twitched. "Miss Bat!" She screamed before the two helped move her onto her side and held her still. Miss Bat checked her airways to make sure they hadn't been blocked as silent tears shed down Enid's cheeks at the very sight of her convulsing figure.

Miss Cackle called from the other side of the door, wondering what was going on, fearing the very worst. When Mildred's seizure subsided she became limp once more. Davina reached for her pulse. "Check…her eyes," Imogen instructed. "Use, the candle…light." Miss Bat carefully took a candle from the nightstand and passed it in front of her face while holding her eyelids open. They were both equally reactive making her sigh with relief. She reached up and took a hold of Enid's hand before catching her breath.

"Miss Bat! Davina, what's happening?" Amelia's cries finally entered their ears and while Enid decided to keep Mildred onto her side in case of another event, Miss Bat stood to her shaking feet and made her way to the door. This time bracing herself against it with exhaustion.

"Davina! What happened?"

"Mildred just had a seizure," she sighed, hearing the Headmistresses gasp through the door.

"But what could have caused it?" She asked. "Not her high temperature?"

"No," Imogen spoke up. "Normally temperature or fever induced seizures only occur in children and are very rare. It wouldn't be that."

"But it could link to what Miss Hardbroom said before," Enid spoke, increasing her volume so that Miss Cackle could hear even though her voice still quaked with fear. "She said that Golden Dewdrop stops the channels that magic uses to pass through the body. Could an internal magic build up cause this kind of reaction?" Amelia remained silent for a moment as Davina shrugged her shoulders, unsure about how to reply.

"I think that could be right Enid. If her pupils are equal and reactive and she doesn't have seemed to change her condition much than that could explain it." She explained. "If it is indeed magic related and not brain related the there should be no sign of brain trauma. I will do some more research into it to see if I can find anything."

"Miss Cackle," Davina sighed. "Please…get the potion here soon." It was a plea, a quiet, unrestful, fear laced plea and Amelia blinked back the water in her eyes.

"I will I promise," she replied. "You are not alone in this. I will be back in two hours for an update and to give you some more information on what I find. Okay?"

"Okay," Miss Bat nodded and knew that Amelia had gone. The two exchanged an uncertain gaze before Imogen's eyes closed completely and the wet towel she held to her head fell to her side. "Imogen," Davina sighed, reaching out and touching her forehead. "She's burning up…what do we do? What are we supposed to do for the next four hours?"

Enid wasn't sure. She didn't have any answers. Just a few hours ago she was in her PE class, following the rules and doing her usual routine. She had absolutely no idea of any magical intricacies and was naive to the world's complex ways of thinking. What they were doing at the moment, and for the past few hours, was the only thing that she could think of, the only thing that could help. There was nothing else to do. But she knew that behind her teachers greying eyes was a need for answers, for reassurance, for strength. So Enid wiped the tears from her eyes and said the only thing that she knew was true.

"We fight, just like they are." The young student dropped the towel she had and pushed against Mildred's bed, the bed legs screeching against the stone floor. Miss Bat helped to Mildred and Constance's beds together before doing the same to Miss Drill and Maud's.

The two of them took a seat in the middle of each pair, resting their tired limbs while still being able to help their colleagues and friends. Enid lifted her head to see Miss Bat smiling, and didn't understand why she was. "You know," she began, using one hand on Mildred's brow and the other on Constance's. "You just gave me an idea for my next chant."

Enid smiled a little because, even in this terrible situation, she knew that the two of them could make it through and they were bringing the others with them… no matter what.


	6. Countdown

**AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews, sorry it's taken five months to get this latest chapter written! Cannot believe it's been that long, I hope this chapter is up to standard. The next chapter will be the last one for this fic, all good things must come to an end.**

**Special thanks go to Dissecting Pomegranates for ping pong and getting me out of writers block and to NCD :)**

**All errors are mine.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6 – Countdown<strong>

Two hours later Miss Cackle returned for her promised update. Miss Bat bittered through the door about how the situation was drastically becoming worse and worse and that without the potion there was nothing more she could do. Although Davina hadn't said it, Amelia knew that something else was happening behind that wooden door.

The eccentric chanting teacher now had no means of escape from her hell and she had now been burdened with a responsibility that no person, witch or not, should have to face.

Amelia felt guilty for allowing the situation to grow to the extent that it had, she felt guilty for being the only staff member left out of that vile poisons clutches. She should have been the one in there, tending to her other staff and students needs, taking the responsibility… but she wasn't which made her angry with herself. One part of her was glad that she hadn't been poisoned while the other wanted to open the door and go inside, to leave the potion in the hands of her students and leave the school unattended. But she knew it wasn't possible, it would never be possible for her to shun all of her remaining responsibilities however much she wished that she could. So, after giving the silent promise that everything was going to be okay, and after steadying her fragile nerves, she turned to walk back to the potion laboratory once more, wishing that the everlasting night would finally break to dawn; and a successful outcome with it.

* * *

><p>Davina's eyes closed for a split second and she shook her head to snap them awake again. She didn't know whether they had been closed for a second, or for something more, down here even seconds felt like hours. She twisted her neck from side to side to try and ease the pain from being in one position for so long as she held her left and right hands against the foreheads of Constance Hardbroom and Mildred Hubble.<p>

Her own forehead began to bead with sweat which she wiped away with another hand towel, trying to keep herself focused on the present and not to slip into the blissful world of her dreams. That was what she normally did on those sour days when her buttons were pushed too fiercely by Miss Hardbroom or when her students drove her to the edge during a mid summer heat She'd just retire to her cupboard, close her eyes and find herself instantly transported into the world of her memories, of her travels, of happier days.

But without that possibility, she found herself struggling to keep herself awake, let alone to try and look after the others. She had done everything that she could, had tried everything she could try, but there was only so much that she could do… only so much that they could do.

Blinking a few times to make her eyes focus, Davina looked to an exhausted Enid, sitting across from her on their small island of beds. Her head hung low and her arms began to droop. Davina adjusted her position and brought her knees under her weight before leaning forwards and feeling the young girl's forehead. It wasn't good.

"Miss Bat…" Nightshade slurred, her eyes barely open. "I'm-"

"It's okay," Davina sighed before taking a new towel and placing it against her student's forehead to try and cool it.

"I'm sorry," she sighed and her eyes finally closed. Davina helped adjust the girl's arms beside her body and supported her back with a pillow before releasing a shaky breath. She leant herself backwards and closed her eyes, looking to the rafters above as silent sobs escaped her throat and made her lungs jolt and heave. The pressure that she had been so careful to keep at bay, the pressure that she fought against in order to escape the reality of their situation, had finally come crashing down.

Warm tears slid from her tired eyes and down her already humid skin as she forced oxygen into her shock induced body. Her hands shook, her heart palpitated, and for a moment she feared that the stress of even thinking about what could unfold in the next hour scared her more than anything she could have imagined. What if one of them died? She had been positive up until this point, where she knew that all of the five people within this one room were relying on her, relying on her to have a strength she wasn't sure she had.

Strength had always been something only the likes of Constance Hardbroom or the odd impatient Miss Drill would be able to demonstrate, not something for the shy, eccentric and musically gifted Davina Bat.

"I can't do this..." she admitted to herself, "I can't do this by myself."

* * *

><p>The moment Amelia stepped through the potion laboratories threshold, Fenella and Griselda knew something was wrong. They lifted their heads from the bench top and looked into her worried eyes, wondering whether their worst nightmare had come true.<p>

"Girls," she paused, guiltily looking to the floor. "I could only hear Miss Bat's voice the last time I checked on them, I fear that she may be the only one left to look after the others." They exchanged a nervous glance before returning their attention to their headmistress's eyes.

"What I am about to ask you isn't something that I normally would… in fact if I had any other option I wouldn't be asking this of you at all, but considering the length and origin of the problem-"

"Send us in," Fenella interrupted, catching Amelia slightly off guard. The two notorious trouble makers had matured quickly in just a matter of hours, they had been given more responsibility than ever before and realised that there was a time for foolishness and trivial pranks and a time to stand up and make a difference, to contribute to the school and to the students more than they had already done in the past. They had risen to every challenge that their headmistress set for them, been her support crutches, however much Amelia wished it wasn't true, and worked incredibly hard to fight against the virus threatening the academy's residents.

Her stomach churned at the very thought of the question passing her lips, of her putting other students into danger, but it was necessary. So many times she had stood on the other side of that wooden veil and wondered what was happening beyond; so many times she had stopped herself from removing Constance's containment spell and forcing her way in to help, but this was not a time to be foolish. If she too came down with the Golden Dewdrop poison the school would be unprotected and an unprotected academy never led to anything good.

"Griselda?" she asked and Gris nodded her head. "You know that it's dangerous and there is no guarantee that-"

"Of course we do," Fenny sighed. "But the potion is only an hour and a half away, we should be able to make it that long and keep the others as stable as possible until then, don't you think Gris?"

"Yeah," Griselda agreed, before walking to the cabinet and taking another two empty glass vials to place next to the others, all ready for filling. "Let us help; anything has to be better than sitting around here and waiting for that potion to mature." Amelia had to agree, she'd rather be in the basement doing something as well, but, if there were any students inside the school that she could trust during times of crisis, it was Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood. "Alright, if you're sure, we need to hurry."

* * *

><p>Miss Cackle's fist knocked loudly against the dungeon door. "Davina!" She called, but received no reply. Her fist pounded a second time. "Davina, can you hear me?!"<p>

"Yes Miss…Cackle?" A voice replied quietly from beyond. She sat on the floor, eyes closed but mind alert.

"I'm sending in Griselda and Fenella," she explained before removing the spell from the door and turning to the two girls who had a pair of Mr Blossoms gardening gloves as their only form of protection against the disease passing to them. "The door will be protected with a spell so there is no turning back."

"We know." Fenella replied before they opened the door.

Chaos, pure, unruly, silent chaos surrounded the two the moment they entered. The door behind them closed and they both partly wished that they hadn't volunteered so quickly; just hours before they had wondered what it would have been like in this dungeon of disease and now they were going to find the answer, in the hardest possible way.

They heard a whimper and saw Miss Bat's head at the far corner of the room, her eyes were closed, leg's held against get chest with her arms, her face buried within them and forehead very pale.

Carefully Griselda approached while Fenny remained behind, surveying the conditions of their friends and teachers. Mildred looked like she was on deaths door; her breathing came in shallow, raspy breaths while Maud wasn't looking much better. Of all of them Miss Drill looked the most peaceful, of course owing to her being a non-magical being affected by a magical poison. She didn't have the magical blockages that Miss Cackle had warned them about during her frequent dashing visits to and from the potion lab.

"Miss Bat," Gris spoke softly, kneeling before the chanting mistress who lifted her head, tears stained her cheeks and new ones fell in happiness at the sight of help.

The fear inside her usually bright and bubbly eyes broke Griselda's heart and before she knew it she wrapped the teacher into a hug, feeling the older woman sob quietly into her shoulder. Lifting her head Gris could see Fenny staring at her, eyes wide. They both knew that the poison could be transferred by just a single touch, but Griselda knew that the fearful woman needed this to calm her nerves, to give her the strength to get her moving, and it worked.

Davina leant back and released a calmer breath from her lungs. "I'm sorry," she sighed, "I just… couldn't help them."

"That's what we're here for," Fenny spoke, moving next to Gris and helping Miss Bat to a bed to rest. They passed her a wet cloth and she placed it weakly to her forehead already bowed in shame. She had failed them and now, because of her failure, two more students were in danger.

The two girls worked around the clock, fetching water, replacing towels and trying to make everyone as comfortable as possible. Fenny dabbed Miss Hardbroom's forehead when she heard a smash and turned to see Gris kneeling on the ground in front of a still spreading puddle of water. "Gris," she sighed softly, kneeling next to her friend and helping her back to her feet.

"I'm sorry, I just slipped." Fenella remained unconvinced but her best friend tried to be reassuring. "Don't worry, I'm okay."

* * *

><p>Miss Cackle paced backwards and forwards, pivoting on her heel as she reached one side of the room to return to where she came. She paused at the potion and checked before continuing the process over and over. There was just thirty minutes until this nightmarish disaster would be over and the academy could return to some semblance of normality.<p>

She turned again and nervously bit her thumbnail as she did so, praying with all of her heart that the potion had been brewed properly, that her pinch of spiders egg would not be to blame for the academy's downfall and the inevitable demise of those suffering below. She stopped moving and closed her eyes, forcing herself to take a long inhale of breath which she released slowly from her lungs. Thirty minutes, she could wait thirty minutes - everything was going to be fine.

* * *

><p>Griselda released another yawn as she placed a hand to her own forehead and felt the beginning of the fever. Fenella looked to the clock on the far wall. "Just thirty more minutes Gris, then we'll be out of here."<p>

"Yeah," she nodded, looking back down to Maud's unconscious body. She couldn't believe how unrecognisable the people in the room before her were. From Constance Hardbroom, the notorious and incredibly strong witch that aided the school in times of distress and could undermine any student with a simple word was now nothing more than a pale, weak and empty shell of her former self, who didn't even have the strength to open her eyes let alone speak.

Miss Bat was always full of musical energy, she seemed like a sponge that absorbed it wherever it lay in nature for her advantage, but with little strength down here it seemed that even the castles ancient walls would prove no use in her aid. She had done well to remain conscious for as long as she had, Griselda couldn't have imagined what it would have been like to see your fellow staff and students dropping off one by one until you were the last one standing.

Enid, Maud and Mildred, three of the closest friends the two senior students had ever seen, certainly lived up to their reputation for sticking together, even in their current state. Mildred may have been the most spirited and brave of the three but it was Enid who initiated action and fought against rules or authority when it suited her own aims, but she too, just like Miss Hardbroom and the others, was powerless to bend the rules of magic and medicine to meet their goals, while Maud, the kind but shy book worm had paid dearly for her kindness.

The weight of their decisions, and every action, had started to take their toll, they may have had just thirty minutes remaining but it could have been a life time. The clock seemed to run four times slower, every second and agonising tick a stab growing louder and heavier in the silence of the room.

"Gris?" Fenella spoke, making the blonde lift her head tiredly, her eyes half closed. Her hands felt heavy, her body and mind sluggish and slow. Carefully Fenella moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder just as her eyes closed completely. "Gris? Come on, just a little while longer, we can do this." Her eyes fluttered open only to reveal a well of tears.

"Fen-"

"It's okay," she interrupted, clutching her hands around Griselda's and looking straight into her eyes.

"The potion will be ready… it will be ready."

* * *

><p>Miss Cackle's heart stopped beating, or at least it felt like it had. She stopped pacing and looked at the classroom clock, watching the second hand count down the very last twenty seconds… to count down and determine the fate of the entire academy.<p>

She hurried to the cauldron and guided her candle light over it, noticing the potions mixture was still green. Her head whipped to the clock, ten seconds left. She counted the glass vials quickly, pointing her trembling fingers at each to make sure she counted correctly before she wiped her brow and looked again.

"5…" she counted aloud, needing to confirm that time was actually counting down and not going in reverse.

"4…" Her eyes closed as the alternatives started probing her already frail conscience but she pushed them aside and opened her eyes once more to stare at the dark green lake of despair that brewed below.

"3…"

"2…"

"1…"


	7. One Way Or Another

**A/N: It's been a long road since I started this fic and now we've reached the end. I apologise for how long it's taken to get this story updated and hope that it is not a disappointing end to the sequel. Thank you all for the reviews and for your support throughout this fic, I hope you enjoy its conclusion :) I apologise for any errors, I tried to keep them to a minimum.**

**Special thanks go to Dissecting Pomegranates for the ping-pong and proofreading.**

**This chapter is dedicated to NCD.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 – One Way Or Another<strong>

Amelia's heart sunk. She couldn't believe it; she refused to believe that all their efforts had been in vain, that the potion was still green, that it wasn't ready, that it had failed. The crushing reality that pushed against her shoulders made her body physically quiver and shake, made her mind swirl with dangerous thoughts and terrible consequences all in one almighty collision. Like a storm empowered wave against the innocent and delicate sand, so too was the crushing emotion against her fragile and wizened heart.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to breathe through the tears already pushing themselves forward, though found the air catching and nicking the corners of her throat, staggering in short and shallow gasps as she breathed. Her hands clutched the desk with such force her knuckles turned white and every ounce of hope stripped itself away to leave nothing but a broken shell where the headmistress stood. It was over, one way or another, it was over.

At least, that was what she thought. So carried away in her muddled and pressing thoughts she almost missed it, the sizzling sound rising from the cauldrons swirling liquid. Amelia dared to open her eyes to look into the darkness, hoping that it was a good sign, that maybe, just maybe, they still had time to hope...and they did.

The potion changed from green to blue, making Amelia's smile widen with every passing second. Bringing her hands to her eyes she wiped away the tears, hoping that this was not a dream, that she hadn't fallen asleep after so many hours of gruelling stress and would wake and find herself back inside her crushing reality once more.

But it wasn't a dream, and the limbs that had once refused to move, and the brain that had stopped thinking, all started returning to normal function. She quickly grabbed a pair of tweezers and clutched the Golden Dewdrop leaf between its prongs and held it unsteadily before her eyes. It was black and poisonless, just as it should have been. Turning off the flame with the click of her finger, Miss Cackle poured the mixture into the phials and darted from the room with the last streaks of adrenaline flowing through her veins.

With the glass phials jangling inside their wooden confine between her hands, Amelia bounded down to the dungeons, her cloak flailing behind her and lantern guiding her path. Finally approaching the door she lowered the lantern and pounded her fist against its wooden surface. "Fenella! Griselda!"

"Is it done?" Asked Fenny as she ran to the door and practically threw herself against it for a warm embrace.

"Yes, I'm coming in," Miss Cackle announced before performing the unlocking spell and carefully stepping inside to finally see the real chaos.

Instantly she realised they had a problem.

She paused, stared at those lying unconsciously in their beds, eyes wide with realisation and mind flooding with decisions.

"Miss Cackle?" Fenny asked, standing closer to the frozen headmistress. "What's wrong?" The tray of phials was thrust into her hands and quickly she took a hold of them before watching her teacher charge out of the door with mouth agape.

"Don't give out anything until I get back!" Amelia ordered, voice echoing off the walls and entering her worried pupil's ears as she raced for Constance's beloved potion laboratory. Flinging the door open with such force that it hit the wall and made the shelves shudder slightly, she moved to the back and sifted through the cabinet shelves. Her fingers pulled bottles from their positions so she could read the labels that lay behind. She knew Constance would berate her for it later but time was off the essence and she'd rather give her the opportunity to yell and scream then to never have the chance to again. Then she found it, the potion she was looking for. With it in tow she ran back to the staffroom and rummaged through the cupboards rather breathlessly until she found the first aid supplies Mr Hallow had generously sponsored.

* * *

><p>Fenella wasn't sure of what to do. They had their cure, their answer, right between her two hands and yet she was told to wait, to pause. It seemed so trivial and strange for all their efforts thus far to reach a stunted conclusion. But thankfully she did not have to wait for long. The trusty headmistress ran inside and quickly moved toward Mildred's bedside, her arthritic knees finding themselves against the stone floor as she ushered her student to her side. Opening the first aid kit on the bed with a click, she removed a pair of plastic gloves and quickly pulled them on. She uncorked the potion bottle, poured some of the mixture on a clean piece of gauze and wiped it against Mildred's skin, over the Brachial artery.<p>

Taking the needle she asked Fenella for Mildred's supply of the potion and carefully drew the blue liquid into the syringe steadily. Once full she pushed the cap to remove any additional air. "Can I borrow your tie please, Fenella?" Miss Cackle asked and she nodded, before pulling it from around her neck. "Can you tie it tightly around Mildred's upper arm, please?" Fenella did as she was told with Miss Cackle's eyes watching closely. Her left fingers tapped over the area until the vein made itself known and she took her moment.

Positioning the tip she fought against her fingers, now shaking the needle erratically against her will. They had made it this far, they had fought this long, now was not the time for failure and the weight of this one moment rested heavily on her shoulders. She had always relied on her staff and students for support, relied on them during times of distress and now they needed her. She couldn't fail them. Holding her nerve and inhaling a deep breath, she exhaled and embedded the steady needle into Mildred's skin.

With the entry successful, and Fenella's eyes burning into Amelia's head, she steadily pushed down the cap and expelled the antidote. Once administered, Fenella removed the makeshift tourniquet and Miss Cackle replaced the entry site with a fresh cotton ball before hanging her head and releasing a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright, Miss Cackle?" Fenella asked and Amelia nodded. It had been a long time since she had to inject a student with something before. Though she had read all the first aid instructions that came across her desk with the monthly school newsletters, she had failed to pay particular attention to every detail, usually leaving the treatment of wounds to Miss Drill or Miss Hardbroom's expertise. Between the two teachers she had performed little to no first aid over the years, except for the bread poultice recipes she had learnt from her grandmother all those years ago for the odd ankle sprain.

"Pass me a bowl, please," Amelia instructed and Fenella brought over one that Amelia placed the needle into before pouring some of the potion over it. She waited a few moments as Fenella secured her tie around Maud's arm for the next injection. Once the sterilising process was complete, Amelia performed each of the injections with precision, her years of sewing coming in handy as she worked with the lifesaving tool.

Once Fenella and a barely awake Griselda both swallowed their share, Amelia took a moment to sit and wait in the silence like a mother awaiting news of her children in a hospital waiting room, waiting for the best but preparing for the worst. Her eyelids slowly started to close and she startled herself awake, trying to make herself focus on something, anything to keep her mind alert. But she too had run out of energy, just as those lying before her had. And now she too needed her rest. Letting her chin drop to her chest, her fingers intertwined and rested in her lap. Her eyes slowly drifted shut with the hope that when she opened them again everything would be okay.

* * *

><p>She didn't know if it had been hours or seconds between when she drifted off to her slumber in the very early hours of the morning, but when she felt a hand against her shoulder she instantly startled awake, feeling slightly better than she had before. Her eyes followed the long and slender arm to her Deputy's face and she stood to her feet and, without initially intending to, threw her arms around her friend's thin frame.<p>

Constance was a little taken back; she had spoken to the others tittering and tattering between one another for hours about whether they should have awoken the headmistress and who should have been the one to do it. The duty had fallen on Constance and the students were clearly amused. Mildred, Maud, Enid, Fenella and Griselda's smiles beaming past the darkness they had all endured and successfully survived.

"It's good to see you too, Headmistress," she spoke, hoping to release the older woman's grasp. Amelia did so and cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed at her sudden outburst when a whirl of black flew in her direction and she found Miss Bat clinging to her like a glove. "It's alright, Miss Bat, it's over." Once Davina had calmed down Amelia surveyed the room with tears of happiness welled in her eyes. The girls were sitting upright, their colour returning to their previously pale skin. Imogen looked almost fit enough to run a marathon while Constance…well, she was still just as thin and pale as she was before, but she was standing in her trademark upright position, her hair obviously respelled to be much tidier.

"Words cannot express how glad I am to see you all," she sighed, relief evident in every word and the students and staff all nodded their acknowledgement.

"Thank you," Mildred cheered, standing to her feet and walking forwards. "Thank you."

"The real people you should be thanking, Mildred, are those who have been in this room much longer than I. Miss Hardbroom, Miss Drill, Miss Bat, Enid, Fenella and Griselda, were of aid when they needed to be and went above and beyond the call of duty to help you. They are who you should thank, for keeping you here with us long enough for the potion to mature."

"So…is it really over now?" Maud questioned, eyes piercing through the frames of her round glasses.

"Yes, Maud, I believe it is."

"So what was it?" Mildred questioned earning Miss Hardbroom's attention. "The plant that cut me?"

"Golden Dewdrop, which I will be happily destroying from the school grounds later this morning," Constance explained.

"In the meantime," Miss Cackle began, "I think you should all rest. It is still dark outside; you have four more hours until sunrise, how about you all get back into bed and sleep the rest of it off. I will see you in the morning."

"Night, Miss Cackle," they chorused.

* * *

><p>The bells around the school began to sound as anxious students entered the great hall and took their seats. On the stage in front of them were the victims. All eight of them sitting in their positions while Miss Cackle stood in front. Ruby and Jadu couldn't contain their happiness at seeing their friends alive and well, Drusilla and Ethel didn't share their enthusiasm.<p>

"Girls as you know, yesterday evening, I stood alone on this stage," Miss Cackle addressed, her arms and legs still feeling heavy and body craving more rest, but she needed to put their minds at ease. "But this morning I stand with those who were affected by the plants poison and survived. I wanted to use this opportunity to thank certain heroes that came out of this tragedy. I would like to thank Miss Hardbroom for finding the cause of the illness and for helping Mildred. I would also like to thank Miss Drill for helping Maud Moonshine." The crowd clapped for the two teachers. "Along with them I would like to thank Enid Nightshade and Miss Bat, who, although suffering themselves, forgot about their problems and fought to help keep their fellow colleagues and classmates with us." Another applause and a smile from Miss Bat and Enid made the horror all worth it.

"Finally though, I would like to thank our third year students Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood for putting themselves bravely in the face of danger in order to help administer the potion. But along with these heroes I'd also like to thank you all for being well behaved and supportive during this ordeal. And thankfully, now that this is over, we can move forward to the future. Miss Hardbroom will be searching the local area with Miss Bat to find any remaining remnants of the Golden Dewdrop plant and will then destroy it. Tomorrow will be the start of the weekend, so, we have all decided that it should be a time for celebration. You all may do what you would like over the next two days as long as it is inside the castle walls or the courtyard. The last thing we need is another incident," she smiled kindly.

"Can I just remind you," Constance began her voice as loud and authoritative as ever, "although this weekend has been declared a free two days of celebration you are to still follow all school rules and teacher instructions."

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom," they chorused before everyone was dismissed.

* * *

><p>Walking down the hill from the castle, with Miss Bat by her side, Constance made her way toward the offending bush to remove every trace of the poison. Carefully, the two worked using Mr Blossom's gloves and a pair of scissors to cut the plants outer edges to reveal the golden branch. Cutting it at the base, Miss Hardbroom placed it into the cauldron that Miss Bat carried with her, the removal potion already prepared appropriately back at the castle for its immediate demise.<p>

Although the ordeal had passed Constance knew it wasn't over yet.

Miss Bat happily chanted as she made her way back to the castle making Constance shake her head. Although their ordeal three months ago had separated and created drifts between members of staff and resurfaced memories that they never wanted to repeat, this crisis had brought them back together. Whatever the reason, they had managed to defy the odds together, but even that made Constance wonder whether that was the original intention.

Constance had a strange feeling that the two incidents had been connected. From Broomhead's attack to try and turn staff member against staff member, to this latest attempt which had managed to bring them all closer together than before. Perhaps she was just paranoid; perhaps her mind was in overdrive since her bout of illness.

But if her instincts were correct then something dangerous was on its way…something Constance vowed to never face again.

**THE END**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** There you have it folks :) I haven't chosen what I'm going to do with this story yet or whether I will follow it up with a third fic so I thought I'd leave it open and see what happens. Thanks again for all your support :)


End file.
